This is incredibly hard for me to write, and even harder for me to carry out, but it's come to this.

I'm leaving the Sonic fandom. I'm done. I'm sorry, but this is the end.

The news should be spreading like wildfire by now, so you may have heard this already, but at today's Sega event the new redesigns for Sonic and company were revealed.

Yes, new redesigns.

I don't know if this will only affect the upcoming Sonic Boom cartoon or all continuities, but frankly, I don't much care. After the colossal mess that occurred last year with Ken Penders, the forced Archie comics reboot, and the destruction and retconning of the comic world and characters I loved since I was a child, I was already on thin ice with the series as-is, but this... This is more than I can take.

I'll always treasure the times I had with Sonic and the fandom over the years. It was my first fandom on the internet, after all, and I made it a point to defend the series and its fans, even during the bad times. I've been the most loyal fan I can possibly be, but now, though it kills me to say it... it's over for me.

As for Mina? She's still my favorite Archie character by far, but who are we kidding? Barring a major change in policy at the comic and Sega, and Penders coming to his senses, she'll never be seen in canon again. She's gone, wiped out of existence just like a third of the cast and 300+ issues of continuity, all because some loud-mouthed jerk of a former writer couldn't accept that he was fired for nearly getting the comic cancelled. Even if by some miracle she did come back, she wouldn't be the same character I loved. I'm deeply thankful to Karl Bollers for creating a character I emphasized so much with, to Ian Flynn for saving the book and bringing it back from the brink when all seemed lost, and to all the Mina/Archie fans I've met and befriended over the years, but it's time to face reality.

So this is it. I honestly never thought this day would come. I thought I would spread my love of Sonic on, maybe to my own children some day, but that's just not going to happen. It kills me to say it, but I'd rather bow out now than watch what else will happen to the series I used to love. I'll keep this group open for the fans that Mina still has, but I'm largely stepping down from running it, and this is likely my last blog entry for it.

It's been a wild ride for 23 years, with good times and bad, but this is the end of the road for me. I wish it were under better circumstances, but that's how it is.

EDIT: So it appears the redesigns are only for Sonic Boom and the associated game(s) and merchandise. Not as much of a disaster as I initially thought, but still... if SB does what Sega's hoping for and "revitalizes the brand", who's to say the redesigns won't spread elsewhere? Remember what happened the last time someone at Sega wanted the games to more closely match one of the cartoons? The entire voice cast got fired and replaced by the 4Kids actors, without being informed. And then the same thing happened again in the lead-up to Sonic Colors. I've got no love for Jason Griffith et al, but even people from 4Kids didn't deserve that.

It's obvious that the people at Sega are pinning their hopes on SB being a success. The cartoon, the new game, the tie-in merch... it all indicates a major push in a new direction. The way I see it, this goes one of two ways: if Sonic Boom succeeds, the whole franchise will get re-geared to follow its lead. Go where the money is, right? If it fails, after all the money and promotion that's clearly gone into it? The damage to the brand will be catastrophic.

Like I said earlier, for me this is merely the final straw. It's been leading up to this for a while... I was already considering retiring from the fandom for months now; today's events just solidified my decision. As much as I want to hope that I'm overreacting, that the situation with Penders will get resolved, that Sonic Boom won't have lasting effects on the franchise... I can't bring myself to think that way anymore. I just don't care like I used to... I can't even work up a good rage over this, all I feel is a profound sadness. And if my reactions to where the franchise is going are sadness and apathy, what's the point? It's just not fun for me anymore. I've been a Sonic fan since long before some of the people currently in the fandom were even born, I've been through some very rough times, but this... everything inside me is saying it's time to let it all go.

Once again, I appreciate all the friends I've made, the good times I've had, the fans I've interacted with, and the inspiration I've gotten from Sonic as a whole. It's been... well, not always fun, but usually interesting, to say the least. But if there was ever a time to make a clean break and walk away... I think this is that time.